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Compassion Lived Out
This week I was able to witness a very beautiful and at the same time heartbreaking scene. While at the viewing of a dear friend’s son, I was sitting with my friend when her mother was brought over to her in a wheelchair. Her mother gently reached for her daughter’s hand and held it while asking her daughter how she was holding up. Through tears she replied that she was okay. She told her daughter how sorry she was that she was going through all this pain and sorrow and that she would be right there with her just like the daughter had been for her, when her son, the…
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Imagine
This morning I was sitting in front of my laptop praying about what to write and thinking of all the things going on in our country at the present moment. The government has be shut down for over 30 days, severe weather is hitting the Midwest and East Coast, new abortion laws were passed, people are protesting and so much more. It all seems so unsettling. While thinking about all of those issues I began to read through notes from a bible study and came across this: “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight…
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Jesus Wept
Yesterday I was viewing a few blog posts from the Proverbs 31 Ministries. One that really stood out to me was by Liz Curtis Higgs called “When God Cries.” She referred to John 11:35 -“Jesus wept,” in her post and shared her story of losing her brother. That verse has long held a special place in my heart. It was one that I clung tightly to after Brock went to be with Jesus. I knew that He felt my pain and knowing that the Savior of the world understood what I was going through, gave me comfort. In the article she commented that Jesus was distressed, enraged in the spirit,…
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Sea of Faces
In the last few weeks there have been so many Divine Encounters that it’s hard to pick just one to mention. I found myself really seeking them out after adding the page to the blog. In adding the page, it added another level of accountability; to be present and be aware of what God was showing me. Throughout the week the lyrics of a song called Sea of Faces, by Kutless kept coming to mind and they are perfect for the “You Matter” project: I see the city lights all around meEveryone’s obscureTen million people each with their problemsWhy should anyone care? And in your eyes I can see… I…
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Sifting
It was a beautiful Saturday morning and I was up early to get my quiet time in before the events of the day began. The sky was blue, no wind and there was new snow on the ground which would be perfect for the sledding party later in the day. I nestled into the pillows on couch with my hot cinnamon coffee and my bible study, it was heavenly. When I had finished my quiet time I began to clean the house for the birthday party that would be taking place in a few hours. I had prayed that the day would go well and that we would have fun…
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Recalculating
GPS is a great invention. It is designed to guide you to your destination using the most convenient path. It’s wonderful when it works properly and there are no unforeseen obstacles. When obstacles appear and everything changes, your path needs to be rerouted and the distance and time to reach your destination is recalculated. I like the movie RV with Robin Williams. He calls his GPS Lola and when he takes a wrong turn she announces that she is recalculating, when he is on an uncharted road she tells him and when he is frustrated with the announcements he says, “I know that Lola!” We often joke about “Lola” whenever…
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Highlights of the Day
Do you ever think at the end of a day whew…what a day! As you finally have a minute to stop and breathe and think about all the events that took place since the moment you woke up. How did your day go? What were the Highlights of the Day? Every once in awhile I will make a list of the highlights of the day and how they made me feel, how I responded and who was involved. It’s fun to read back over some of those highlights days, weeks, months and sometimes even years later. It feels like you are reliving those moments and you can remember each and…
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Landscaping
J.M. Barrie said, “God gave us memories that we might have roses in December.” It’s not the time of year to be landscaping outside in our area, but the memories of beautiful flowers, green grass and leafy trees sure make for nice thoughts. The previous owner of the home we purchased was an amazing gardener. She spent hours and years planting all types of flowers, shrubbery and trees. All throughout the year we were continually surprised as new plants sprouted during different seasons and plants almost magically appeared in the most unique display of colors, sizes and textures. The sprinkler system was designed to make sure each and every plant…
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Our Duty
For the last several days I have been thinking about a comment that was in one of my blogs. It was, “Our motivation for making more is giving more.” It was from a book by Mark Batterson and was in the context of praying. I know the reason it was weighing on my mind was because God wanted me pray that prayer, so I did. His answer was already in the works and came in the form of a lower monthly insurance premium. First of all a lower premium is a miracle in itself, but God was freeing up some funds in our budget with the purpose of using some…
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Refining
Years ago I watched the movie My Fair Lady and have always remembered how Eliza Doolittle worked at changing her accent and tone to fit in with higher society. There have been several other movies over the years that have highlighted transitions of people such as Pretty Women, The Princess Diaries and Disney’s The Sword In the Stone, just to name a few. In these movies people go to drastic measures to become acceptable in the societies they find themselves led to either by fate or by chance. I was thinking about how much time and effort each of these characters put into making big changes in their lives and…